By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The population of butterflies – the beautiful insects that play a vital role in pollination and the health of ecosystems – has fallen in the United States by more than a fifth this century, according to research spanning hundreds of species from the red admiral butterfly to the American …
Butterfly populations plummet by 22% in US since turn of century Read More »
By Jack Queen (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at imposing potentially steep costs on parties that seek to block his policies in court. The order said U.S. Justice Department lawyers must now ask judges to require plaintiffs to pay the government’s costs and damages if it is forced …
Trump directs government to ask for bond in lawsuits challenging policies Read More »
By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday said U.S. President Donald Trump’s firing of a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board was illegal and ordered that she be reinstated to her post. The decision by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., restores a quorum of three members at the …
US judge reinstates Democratic labor board member fired by Trump Read More »
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development has targeted a huge range of programs for cuts, from a few thousand dollars for an interpreter in Ukraine to multimillion-dollar efforts to fight diseases like malaria in Myanmar. Reuters reviewed a copy of a 368-page document that showed …
From fighting HIV to interpreters, USAID cuts wide swath of programs Read More »
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order suspending security clearances for employees of law firm Perkins Coie and targeting the firm’s business with federal contractors, citing its diversity practices and political activities. Seattle-founded Perkins Coie has long drawn criticism from Trump allies over its …
Trump expands clash with law firms with order against Perkins Coie Read More »
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A three-year congressional effort to make daylight saving time permanent in the United States appears to have halted, with President Donald Trump saying on Thursday that Americans are evenly divided over the issue. Daylight saving time – putting the clocks forward one hour during the summer half of the …
Push for permanent US daylight saving time frozen as Trump says Americans are divided Read More »
By Tim Cocks, Francesco Guarascio and Fransiska Nangoy (Reuters) -The United States is withdrawing from the Just Energy Transition Partnership, a collaboration between richer nations to help developing countries transition from coal to cleaner energy, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday. Reuters reported on the withdrawal on Wednesday, based on several sources in key …
Exclusive-US withdraws from plan to help major global polluters move from coal Read More »
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A divided U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected a suburban Seattle church’s bid to void a Washington state law requiring insurers that offer maternity coverage in employee health plans to also cover abortions. In a 2-1 decision, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Cedar Park …
Washington state prevails over church in abortion coverage appeal Read More »
By Leah Douglas (Reuters) -South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed a bill on Thursday banning the use of eminent domain, which allows private land to be taken for public use, for the construction of carbon dioxide pipelines, potentially endangering a $9 billion project proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions. Summit’s pipeline would carry captured carbon dioxide …
South Dakota bans use of eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines Read More »
By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration suffered another legal blow in its efforts to freeze federal funding for programs that do not align with the Republican’s agenda on Thursday when a second judge blocked it from implementing a sweeping pause on spending on grants, loans and other financial support. U.S. District Judge …
Second judge blocks Trump’s sweeping freeze on federal funding Read More »
